Larsa

The fourth son of Emperor Gramis and younger brother to Vayne, Larsa is first encountered in the skycity of Bhujerba. He introduces himself as “Lamont,” apparently having gone to the same school of fake names as “Amalia,” and joins the party as a guest character as they venture into the Lhusu Mines. His interest is in the mines’ production of magicite and its connection to Draklor’s nethicite, which Balthier questions him about, but Larsa slips away when the bounty hunters after Balthier arrive. When the party exits the mines, Larsa’s identity is revealed.

Larsa runs into Penelo when he leaves the mines and takes her with him in order to keep her from the Imperial guards, and assures her that he’ll return her to Vaan in due time. He tells her about his faith in his brother, and tells her how important honor is to the men of his family.

When the Dreadnought Leviathan arrives, Larsa boards it with Penelo, presumably in order to take her home. However, as the party escapes from custody and breaks out Ashe, Larsa and Penelo run into them. Larsa takes Vossler with him to ensure an escape route for the party, and gives Penelo a piece of manufacted nethicite in order to protect her. Before leaving he delivers what's probably my favorite line in the game:

Larsa: Lady Ashe. By all rights you ought not even to exist. That you and Captain Ronsenburg were made to appear dead... is like a hidden thread laid bare. Your actions hereafter will pull at that thread... and we will see what it unravels. This is our chance. We must see this through, and get to the bottom of it. I believe 'tis for the good of Dalmasca, and the good of the Empire.

Larsa next appears when the party reaches Jahara. He urges Ashe to go with him to Mt. Bur-Omisace in order to stop what he sees to be an inevitable war between Archadia and Ondore’s resistance force, which would in turn incite Rozarria on the side of the resistance. Dalmasca would be the battleground, and would no doubt fall to the power of nethicite as Nabudis did before it. Ashe is reluctant, given her history with Archadia, but she cannot deny the truth in his words, and agrees to go with him.

They are waylaid in the Golmore Jungle, and are forced to detour to the Henne Mines, where Archadia mines for magicite. The events there cause Larsa to realize the danger of the nethicite he gave to Penelo, and he takes it back from her, apologizing for his error.

At Mt. Bur-Omisace, Larsa meets with his contact, Al-Cid of Rozarria, and the Gran Kiltias Anastasis, an important religious leader whose words have enormous political power. There, his hopes of avoiding war are dashed as he learns that his father, Emperor Gramis, has recently been assassinated, and his power-hungry brother Vayne has assumed control. Larsa leaves the party as Ashe pursues other methods of stopping the war. While they’re gone, a fleet of airships arrives on Mt. Bur-Omisace. Judge Gabranth safely retrieves Larsa while Judge Bergan lays waste to the mountain.

It’s not until after the events of Giruvegan that we see Larsa again. He tries to convince Vayne not to go to war, but Vayne dismisses him, insisting that Ashe is the one that brought them to this point. Vayne then orders Gabranth to ascertain Ashe’s intent; Larsa tells Gabranth that he believes in the both of them.

Of course, none of this actually stops Vayne from attacking. Even as they approach, Larsa begs his brother to stop, to no avail. When the party eventually reaches Vayne in the Sky Fortress Bahamut, even Larsa turns on his brother, drawing his sword on him. Larsa is injured when Vayne uses the nethicite, and Gabranth comes to his aid to protect him. Vayne eventually falls, while Larsa escapes with the party, though Gabranth doesn’t make it. Larsa announces to the Imperial fleet that Vayne has fallen, and that he is now in command.

A year later finds him still in command of Archadia, and communicating with Penelo by letter. Basch serves as his protector, following Gabranth’s dying wish and wearing his brother’s armor.

Opinion

Honestly, Larsa is one of the best characters in the game, and certainly one of the most well developed. He’s a character I consider very necessary in the story — he’s a foil to Vayne, emphasizing the differences between the two — but he’s very likable, and he gets a lot of good defining character moments early on so that you know who he is and what makes him tick. All in all he’s a well-crafted character and he’s a great part of the game.

Final Fantasy XII has a great guest party member system in general, but I’ve always felt Larsa to be one of the standouts. Partially because he’s a great healer. Thanks for all the free potions, Larsa. (In IZJS/TZA sadly he doesn't give you free potions, but he does have Shades of Black, which is very helpful in the Lhusu Mines in particular.)

I feel like I should say more, but, I mean. Larsa’s great. What more is there to say? I love his character design too, I suppose I can say that. Larsa’s adorable. I have a bad habit of not paying attention to the plot when Larsa shows up and instead just focusing on how cute he is. Sorry Larsa.